Bonus Fix: Remembering Steinbrenner

By

Nando Di Fino

Jul 13, 2010 12:08 pm ET

Getty Images

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died this morning in Tampa, Fla., from a heart attack just days after the death of legendary Yankees announcer Bob Sheppard and slightly over a week after Steinbrenner celebrated his 80th birthday, on July 4. Steinbrenner was a polarizing figure in baseball. He became famous for his quick trigger finger with managers. His outlandish spending on free agents also angered many small-market teams, but endeared him to Yankees fans who saw an owner who only seemed concerned about winning championships. The strategy seemed to work: Since he bought the team in 1973, Steinbrenner’s Yankees won 11 pennants and seven World Series, the latest last season.

“The story of King George is fascinating to me,” Joe Posnanski wrote in 2008, “because, at the end of the day, the story goes wherever the narrator wants it to go. Do you want a hero? Do you want a scoundrel? Do you want a tyrant? Do you want a heart of gold?”

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